Way Back Home
by seigakuen
Summary: TezukaFuji. Where home is miles and miles away and love is just a shared future bargained for a dream.
1. Prelude: Wondering

**A/N: Hey there! This is my first anime fanfic, and I am pleased to present this although it took me no more than 1 hour to figure the plot out insert shame cough impromptu yell spur of the moment but anyway, I really ship fujiryo despite the fact that they don't really have much moments in the anime but whatever. I can be as imaginative as I want. Reviews are very much appreciated, follows and faves, too.**

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Practice ended the way it usually did at Seishun Gakuen's tennis club. It was almost 6 in the evening when the regulars exited the school campus, deciding on which place they should have their dinner. They took the cheapest way to the best burger joint they could think of so as to spend more money on the food. While they were walking, some heads turned to look at them. Some even whispered to each other.

"I knew it... We should have taken the train." Momoshiro sighed, feeling uneasy with the stares.

Eiji nodded. And the other members followed suit, of course excluding Kaidoh who just hissed..

Ever since the day they won the National Tournament, Seigaku's popularity has increased tenfold. Despite being known as one of the strongest tennis teams even before their victory, it was only after the National Tournament that their abilities were acknowledged by the entire country. Every two weeks if not every month, reporters would come to the school to interview them regarding their way of training and their lifestyle. The experiences had been fun—it could blatantly be seen just by looking at their genuine smiles—but deep inside of them, they knew something was missing. Someone rather.

"Oh, we're here," Kawamura muttered after they crossed the street. Momoshiro dashed his way through the senpais and went into the burger joint with the sound of his rumbling stomach resonating. The other members couldn't help but laugh.

Once Fuji sat down on the high chair facing the big window, he propped a hand under his elbow. His eyes opened and his orbs of a shade in between azure and cerulean revealed themselves. "Senpai, what are you gonna eat?" Kachirou asked from behind him, and he turned slightly to answer the new regular.

"I'll have fries. Thank you." He smiled as Kachirou nodded, his tone calm and gentle. Turning toward the window again, he sighed with his eyes closed. Beside him, Oishi sat a few minutes later.

"You look sappy, Fuji." The vice captain commented, giving him a pat on the shoulder. He could only chuckle to prove Oishi wrong. He didn't look at the other, he didn't say anything, he just chuckled. "Anyway, here are your fries." Oishi cut the conversation and handed the fries to Fuji instead, knowing the tensai's timid answers would lead them to nowhere.

Fuji placed the fries in front of him but he never ate, he just stared at the passing cars and walking people while the others ate and joked around. He didn't know why he was quiet all of a sudden, but maybe he just wanted to think. It was only after thirty minutes did he realize that all he had been doing was staring out the window and into the streets. Oishi looked at him apologetically, lips pressed into a fine line. "Fuji..."

The mentioned man didn't look at him, but did respond. "I'm not hungry, that's all," the tensai smiled before averting his gaze. He wasn't in the mood for any of Oishi's emotional counseling.

Oishi put down his soda. Tracing the logo on it with his index finger, he asked, "You miss him, don't you?" Beside him, Fuji froze. _Got you_.

Fuji tensed, but eventually he got over the feeling of constant reminders. His shoulders heaved downwards slowly, and as he tried to stay calm, he stared into nothing in particular. "I was just wondering if he's doing fine right now. If he's asleep or still practicing, if he's got new friends or he's still antisocial. I was just wondering if he ever—"

Oishi stopped him, completely aggravated by the fact that it had already been nearly two years and his friend still was not over the past. "I thought you were a sadist, Fuji?" He hissed, motherly vibe disappearing. Fuji looked at him. "But look at yourself right now, worrying and hurting yourself with your own pathetic what if's." He sighed.

Fuji, on the other hand, cringed because the words stung. They really did. But he still listened.

"Before he left, he asked you if you'd be okay. You said yes because that's what you always do," Oishi continued, standing up. "You pretend to be okay."


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: This was originally a fujiryo fanfic but then I decided to change it into tezufuji because why not and I just thought it would be much better (?) Also, my English kinda sucks still just because... just because. Anyway, the plot will stay the same (not that you guys know, but you get my point). Reviews are appreciated.**

**This ain't edited.**

* * *

"Mada mada dane," Echizen taunted as he pointed at Arai with his racket. The latter snickered, and then bit his lips in embarrassment after turning around to go back to practicing his strokes. Behind Echizen was Inui, who was taking down notes of the practice as usual.

Meanwhile, the other regulars were having their own practice matches with the juniors. There was one exception though.

Horio, carrying a box of tennis balls, halted while in the middle of the court. "Eh, Fuji-senpai isn't here?" That was when the regulars stopped hitting the balls, and looked for Fuji. Kikumura, knowing fully well that Fuji was most probably distracting himself, jogged toward Oishi.

"Oh, Eiji?" Oishi seemed surprised to see a sad look on Eiji's face.

The latter huffed, "Can I go fetch Fujiko? He's not here." His eyebrows furrowed. On the other hand, Oishi stood still, thinking of what to do at a situation like this where feelings were much more important than logical answers just because it was Fuji they were dealing with. Sighing, he nodded briefly, and in a matter of seconds, Kikumaru was already on his way to the rooftop.

Earlier that day, Oishi told the regulars that they would have a private meeting in the afternoon at the club room. Fuji wasn't there that time when the intriguing news was announced. Kikumaru worried about him, since he found out from Oishi that the meeting had something to do with the previous captain. Shaking his head, he looked down at his feet before opening the door to the rooftop. His eyes were closed shut when he did so, making the soft chuckle the only thing to determine if Fuji was there.

He was.

Kikumaru sighed. Fuji saw him. "Oh, Eiji, what are you doing here?" The tensai sat down, a genuine smile stretched across his face. Eiji sighed for the second time around, feeling relieved that his friend was his usual calm self.

He walked closer to the other, laughing slightly. "I thought you were somewhere else. I was worried. But I guess I had nothing to worry about. You're here all the time." He chuckled, sitting next to Fuji on the floor.

"Well, the sky is beautiful. I think that's why I like it here," Fuji answered, cerulean eyes closing slowly as soon as he finished talking. Head toward the sky, he breathed in and out. Seconds later, he opened his eyes to look at Eiji blissfully. "Tezuka even said my eyes remind him of the sky," he muttered, half-lidded eyes looking at nothingness.

Beside him, Eiji flinched. "I-We should head to the club now, Oishi said we have a private meeting today."

"Oh really?" Surprise was evident in Fuji's voice. His eyes were wide open, but soon enough they were itching to close. "I'm sorry but I can't—" He was cut off by his vibrating phone, which he ignored. A chuckle left his lips.

"He said it's really something important, so we can't miss this." Eiji cut him off. Behind him, Fuji was stoned for a moment. Eiji clenched his fists. He couldn't take it anymore. It had been nearly two years yet Fuji still hadn't moved on. He didn't like how his friend was trapped in the past while all of them had already chosen to move forward. Turning around, he stared at Fuji with his eyebrows knitted together.

"Tell me, why'd you agree to play as an import for Seigaku?"

Fuji cocked his head to the side with a subtle smile upon his face, "Eiji..."

"It had something to do with Captain Tezuka, right?"

His friend was hesitant for a moment, but eventually, Fuji nodded. Eiji never saw.

And Fuji wasn't smiling.

* * *

Their steps resonated as they entered the clubroom, greeting the other regulars with their much awaited presence. "Sorry we're late," Eiji apologized while scratching his head. Behind him, Fuji bowed as a sorry.

"It's okay. You guys weren't that late," Oishi waved it off and a few seconds after he did, he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I called you all for a private meeting since a very important person sent us his greetings yesterday." His smile was bright, because he knew the regulars would be happy to hear about everything. But deep inside he felt weary. His eyes glanced at the two that had just entered a few moments ago.

Momoshiro clasped his hands. "I'm pumped to read buchou's mail! Come on Oishi-senpai!"

Fuji's azure eyes opened wide at the word that rang in his ears. "Tezuka sent a letter?" Everyone turned to him, and as soon as they saw the look in his eyes despite his smile, the atmosphere in the clubroom changed.

Oishi stammered to get a reply out of himself. "A-ah, yes!"

"I was pretty surprised when I saw buchou's printed letter in Oishi's bag this morning," Eiji decided it would be best to say something of that sort to distract his teammates from Fuji's eyes, and luckily, he did. Oishi made a mental note to treat Eiji some food for that.

The regulars took Eiji seriously, and Momoshiro was the first one to speak up. "Eiji-senpai, that's unfair! Oishi-senpai, why does he get to read the letter before we do?" Momo whined annoyingly enough for Kaidoh to snicker, not that Kaidoh doesn't snicker at Momoshiro all the time, but you know. "Oi, viper! You want to fight?"

"I don't want to fight with a peanut-sized minded person like you."

Echizen yawned, "Sit down, Momo-senpai. I'm thrilled to hear what buchou had to say."

"Probability of Momoshiro not listening to Echizen is 90%."

Kawamura decided to get in on the commotion, "Burning!"

That was when Oishi took back what he noted, because he definitely wasn't thankful that Eiji stirred up that topic.

Meanwhile, near the door of the clubroom, Fuji stood speechless. His thoughts were drowning out everything around him, and they slowly became whispers as time passed by, eventually vanishing. He couldn't believe what he had heard. Two years had gone by, and even he, himself, would never think that Tezuka would write to them after nearly two years of no communication. Despite thinking that, Fuji knew he wanted to read that letter more than anything else just by listening to the beat of his heart.

"Okay, okay, everyone settle down. Since I don't have a printer at home, I couldn't get a hard copy of the mail Tezuka sent me. But I promise to send it to all of you before tomorrow. Gomen."

"What?! You called all of his here when all we want to do is go home after a long day of practice and that is all you say?!" Momoshiro snapped.

"Sit down, punk," Kaidoh muttered, loud enough for Momoshiro to hear but soft enough for the mentioned guy to dismiss it.

Echizen smirked, "But more importantly, Eiji-senpai lied to us about having had read the letter."

Momoshiro's attention was diverted from Oishi.

"Oi, Oishi, I'm going ahead!" Eiji called from the door, and as soon as he finished, he ran away without a thought.

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Fuji sighed after getting his bag from his classroom. He thought he would finally be able to get home after that useless private meeting but he remembered he forgot his stuff at his desk and had to go back. While he was walking though, his mind wandered back to what Oishi told them and he was suddenly so pumped to get home so he could read Tezuka's mail.

As soon as he got home that afternoon, he went on his computer and signed into his email account. He found no email. Fuji frowned before deciding to give Oishi a call. He reached for his cellphone, and was surprised to see a text message from Oishi pop up once he unlocked it. He intended to exit that message to give Oishi a call instead but after having caught a glimpse of the first part of the message, he changed his mind and read it instead.

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_Hi, Fuji. Tezuka told me to send you his letter to you as soon as possible so here it is. It's different from the letter he wrote to the entire team but you don't have tow worry about that. He wrote this solely for you._


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N** I've just finished reading a tezufuji fanfic and it freaking killed me just because it was perfection and I actually only started reading it this morning but I've already finished it lolol. It really inspired me to write this chapter since I was guilty from not updating for so long, so here I am. I guess it's a double update? But anyway, I think there won't be many people reading this story but I just want to write this for myself so that when I get the tezufuji feels, I would have something immediate to read haha. I know I'm obsessed. I've really been since 2010. I'm a late bloomer, I know.

Btw, this is unedited so forgive me for being abrupt I just really wanted to update.

141025 [update] - edited this chapter

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Fuji flipped to the other side of his bed again, probably the millionth time that night already. He couldn't help but feel giddy, happy, and anxious at the same after reading Tezuka's mail for him. For _him_. Him alone. And no one else.

As soon as he began reading it, his stomach suddenly felt so tight and the air around him felt suffocating even though he was just in the confinement of his own room―heater turned off―which he thought he should find comforting. But he didn't, and it was all because of the tears that were welling up in his wide open eyes.

Or maybe it was the thought of everything being so surreal. It could also be because he had finally heard from Tezuka―no, _Kunimitsu_ after almost two years.

The third option brought him to the second level of Heaven. His mind was hazy, and his heart was left in a trance as he tried so hard to fall into slumber. He stayed wide awake for a good thirty minutes before he felt his eyelids become heavier by the second. He decided he didn't want to go to school looking unready to see Tezuka, so after a few more toss and turns in his bed, he fell asleep, image of the captain smiling in his dreams.

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_Tomorrow, I'll be at school to personally congratulate Ryuzaki-sensei and the team for winning the Nationals. I might also talk to you regarding a few matters, and I hope you stay around, because I most definitely do not want to miss the chance to tell you what I want to say as it is very important. _

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"Nee-san, I'll be going now," Fuji smiled brightly as he opened the main door of his home. His sister emerged from the kitchen doorway, a glass of water in her right hand, smiling at her brother in return.

She waved a goodbye at him, both of their eyes crinkling at the ends, indicating true happiness. "Have fun at school, Syusuke." She said right after her brother took a step forward outside, a step closer to his happiness. After the door had closed, she chuckled with delight and turned around to go into the kitchen again.

Fuji Yumiko definitely knew her brothers more than any person, of course excluding her parents. The way Syusuke smiled that day made her think something great happened, and she was certain, especially when she saw the bright blue eyes open for a second. She could have gasped right then and there when she saw the light in them, but she couldn't risk it; she wanted to keep it to herself until her brother came home later that night, happier than he'd been in two years.

While smiling to herself, Yumiko thought it was safe to say that that smile and those eyes certainly belonged to someone in love.

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Upon arriving at his high school, Fuji immediately went to class, happy as his mind wandered back to those times in middle school when girls always swooned over him and some guys nearly fell for him. Compared to today, he definitely liked this better than the old times. He wasn't that special in terms of looks anymore―but there were still a few admirers here and there―as he looked too fragile and frail to be a boy, so was often put to the side by the majority of the girls that preferred well built guys from the basketball and football club.

He smiled wider upon entering his classroom. If he remembered correctly, the last time someone had adored and appreciated his beauty so much occurred two years ago when he was still the beautiful boyfriend of Tezuka Kunimitsu.

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At lunch break, Fuji was excused since he was asked by Ryuzaki-sensei to go to school. Luckily, Eiji studied at the same high school as well so he had someone to talk to about being excited while he was on the way to Seishun Gakuen where he would finally meet buchou. His buchou. Fuji couldn't care less about their breakup, he was simply too engrossed in his own speculations.

He wished, each time he thought about Tezuka, that one day―it didn't matter when―they'd finally get back together.

"Saa, Eiji..." Fuji whispered when he and his best friend began to head to their old school. The redhead turned to him, eyes gleaming in delight; he was excited, too. "What do you think Tezuka looks like now?" Fuji blushed a light shade of pink as he imagined Tezuka, more handsome than he had been in middle school, if that was even possible.

Eiji brought a finger to his chin. "I don't know. We haven't seen him in two years. He's probably got a better physique by now," he thought, feeling slightly jealous as he didn't grow much in that span of time.

Fuji nodded eagerly, hands behind him. Silence reigned for a few moments, but it was comfortable, happy, just pure bliss overall. Eiji could practically feel the happiness vibrating off his bestfriend. He wanted to ask a certain question, but couldn't risk seeing a sad smile that meant something much worse than Fuji's silence.

So he rephrased everything, "Fuji," he addressed.

Fuji friend looked at him, curious about the way he smiled but never questioned it. He returned the smile.

"You like the thrill, don't you?" Eiji mused. He stopped for a moment, and then continued, "How would you feel like if the thrill was upon you and not somebody else?" He asked, and Fuji halted, wondering what the proper way to respond was. He tapped his chin a few times, and all that came up was an unamused shrug. Eiji blinked once, but didn't push it further, seeing that if he did, his bestfriend would realize what he was trying to say.

He really didn't have to think about that though. Fuji might not have shown it, but he definitely understood what Eiji meant.

* * *

When Fuji and Eiji arrived at Seigaku, the rumor about Tezuka's arrival that day had already spread throughout school. The old tennis club members went to the tennis courts to catch a glimpse of the highly respected Tezuka Kunimitsu, and many other people came just to see him: girls, guys, the teachers, even the old Fudoumine Tennis Regulars, and the Seigaku Regulars, which was, of course, a given.

Fuji and Eiji even had to squeeze through the crowd just to get to the courts.

At that time, Fuji's heart had already been pounding hard. It pounded loudly, enough to remind him of the love he knew for more than three years and the longing he experienced for an amount of time he was willing to give, as long as it meant ending up with Tezuka.

"He's here!" Someone in the back yelled. The crowd began whispering while some started screaming and cheering.

Inside the court, the regulars stood, awaiting their captain's return, and unbeknownst to everyone's knowledge, Fuji was panicking mentally. Suddenly, he wanted to back out, thousands of possibilities―good or bad―abruptly occupying his mind and scaring him to insanity. His palms began to sweat and he fidgeted a little, his smile even dropped for a few seconds, but luckily it had resurfaced when Oishi gave a reassuring pat on the shoulder and the other regulars showed him smiles that said, 'Good Luck.'

Finally, the front line of the crowd was cut into two and in between those lines of spectators was Tezuka himself.

Fuji stood there, stunned, completely aware that he was in no state to speak or smile or move. He was simply too taken aback.

Tezuka couldn't help but smile just a little, the widest the regulars had ever seen since they met him, but he didn't bother glowering at the noise anymore and dissipating that smile since he, too, had waited long for this day to come. He quietly made his way to the gates that lead to the courts, his stature seeming higher, stronger, and much more Tezuka-like, as the girls in the crowd would say.

Fuji, on the other hand, could barely move. His lips were stuck in a smile, and his eyes were open for the whole world to see. He was too afraid of letting his emotions show. The what if's got to him and fear just swallowed him. _What if Tezuka didn't miss him the way he missed him?_

"Good afternoon everyone," Tezuka greeted, and Fuji's eyes opened wider, revealing the love he wanted only Tezuka to see. The voice boomed in his head and rang in his ears over and over again, and if it weren't for the crowd that was still observing, he most probably would've cried.

Something ripped. _What if Tezuka didn't look at him the way he wanted him to?_

"Buchou!" The regulars yelled, attacking the captain with hugs and hello's and just all the things Fuji couldn't do.

Somewhere in his heart, he had hoped the captain would at least come near him and greet him, but maybe that was too much to ask. Fuji's heart swelled at the sight, Tezuka had just glanced at him. Those deep, hazel eyes whose depth he had almost forgotten graced his presence just now. His mind soared at the feeling, but it stopped.

_Why did a glance mean so much to him that he couldn't look away when to Tezuka, it wasn't so important, that he already moved on and set his eyes on something else?_

Something resonated. _What if he really had moved on?_ He asked himself, smile not faltering. All he had to do was pretend for the time being and when it was all done, he would finally be able to release all that he tried to hold in.

The regulars broke away from the embrace and lined up once again to give each of them a chance to talk properly to the captain. Once Eiji was beside Fuji, he nudged the stoned smiling tensai. "Nya, Fujiko why aren't you joining the fun? You're supposed to be the one who's most stoked to see buchou," he whispered, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

Fuji didn't answer, he just smiled. Or maybe he _did_ answer. He didn't know.

_To be continued..._

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**A/N** I had to stop it there haha so the next chapter would be dedicated to the most important part of the first fifth of this story. Speaking of the length of this, I'm nowhere near sure about how long this would be but I'm certain it would be less than 20, if not 20.


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